“And she … wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger” – Luke 2:7
“Then he … wrapped [the body of Jesus] in a linen cloth and laid it in a … tomb” – Luke 23:53

Wrapped and laid
beginning and end
cloth and cloth
birth and death

Manger and tomb
bookends of life
baby and corpse
wrapped and laid

Each time helpless
each time someone
cared enough
to wrap and lay

On this Good Friday
am I called to care
to wrap, to lay
while others turn away

On this Good Friday
what lies entombed
wrapped, waiting
as yet unveiled

You can listen to a conversation about this poem on the Reformed Journal Podcast.

Photo by Kier in Sight Archives on Unsplash